Talisker
November 18th, 2009, 05:11 AM
Willowbrook makeover proposed
A plan for three 24 to 28 storey towers will be in front of Township council soon.
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
An ambitious plan to remake part of the Willowbrook core in Langley Township will be put before Langley Township council soon. Ralph Berezan, owner of Berezan Management, told the Langley Advance that he still hopes to build three highrise towers adjacent to the Willowbrook Shopping Centre. The towers would range from 24 to 28 storeys tall, and would include about 500 condo units. "It's going to have a bit of commercial in it as well, and a bit of office, so hopefully it'll become a bit of a town centre," Berezan said.
Berezan Management owns the former site of the Willowbrook Six movie theatre, and a strip mall to the south-east along Willowbrook Drive.The proposals will probably be sent to the Township in the first two weeks of December, through consultant Aplin & Martin. Berezan said he has an architect who is working on the project as well. If approved, it would be the first highrise project in Langley.
It was just a year and a half ago that the Township approved in principle the idea of highrises. Its policies confine any highrise proposal to a corridor from Langley City in the south to the 200th Street interchange in the north.
Any highrise project must be built near 200th Street, and they must go through a community consultation process. Township Councillor Kim Richter said there is no guarantee the council will agree to any given highrise proposal. Consideration needs to be given to whether the project fits its area, an whether the neighbourhood is ready. Traffic and the shadow of the buildings could be potential issues, Richter said, with any proposal. Township council has been somewhat split on the notion of highrises versus mid-rise and low-rise buildings. "I'm really in favour of densifying where we can, not necessarily to highrises," said Councillor Grant Ward. While Ward said he wouldn't mind seeing 12 or 13 storey buildings go up in Langley, he's not sure if that's needed yet. Ward didn't rule out larger buildings: "Highrises may be the way we have to go in the future," he said.
Both Ward and Richter said they will have to wait and see what the Berezan proposal looks like before they can comment on its pros and cons. Berezan said he hopes that the projects will be approved, and could start construction within two years. It would take about two years to finish the first tower, and only one tower would be constructed at a time. If council and the community give the thumbs up, construction could begin on the first tower by 2011, with two years required to finish it. All three towers could be done by 2017.
A plan for three 24 to 28 storey towers will be in front of Township council soon.
Matthew Claxton, Langley Advance
Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
An ambitious plan to remake part of the Willowbrook core in Langley Township will be put before Langley Township council soon. Ralph Berezan, owner of Berezan Management, told the Langley Advance that he still hopes to build three highrise towers adjacent to the Willowbrook Shopping Centre. The towers would range from 24 to 28 storeys tall, and would include about 500 condo units. "It's going to have a bit of commercial in it as well, and a bit of office, so hopefully it'll become a bit of a town centre," Berezan said.
Berezan Management owns the former site of the Willowbrook Six movie theatre, and a strip mall to the south-east along Willowbrook Drive.The proposals will probably be sent to the Township in the first two weeks of December, through consultant Aplin & Martin. Berezan said he has an architect who is working on the project as well. If approved, it would be the first highrise project in Langley.
It was just a year and a half ago that the Township approved in principle the idea of highrises. Its policies confine any highrise proposal to a corridor from Langley City in the south to the 200th Street interchange in the north.
Any highrise project must be built near 200th Street, and they must go through a community consultation process. Township Councillor Kim Richter said there is no guarantee the council will agree to any given highrise proposal. Consideration needs to be given to whether the project fits its area, an whether the neighbourhood is ready. Traffic and the shadow of the buildings could be potential issues, Richter said, with any proposal. Township council has been somewhat split on the notion of highrises versus mid-rise and low-rise buildings. "I'm really in favour of densifying where we can, not necessarily to highrises," said Councillor Grant Ward. While Ward said he wouldn't mind seeing 12 or 13 storey buildings go up in Langley, he's not sure if that's needed yet. Ward didn't rule out larger buildings: "Highrises may be the way we have to go in the future," he said.
Both Ward and Richter said they will have to wait and see what the Berezan proposal looks like before they can comment on its pros and cons. Berezan said he hopes that the projects will be approved, and could start construction within two years. It would take about two years to finish the first tower, and only one tower would be constructed at a time. If council and the community give the thumbs up, construction could begin on the first tower by 2011, with two years required to finish it. All three towers could be done by 2017.